The Village of Elmira Heights is primarily within the Town of Elmira, but part of the village is in the Town of Horseheads. The village is a northern suburb of the City of Elmira. It is part of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area'.
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,170 people, 1,874 households, and 1,053 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,664.5 people per square mile (1,412.3/km²). There were 2,010 housing units at an average density of 1,766.3/sq mi (680.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.03% White, 1.03% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.79% of the population.
There were 1,874 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.8% were non-families. 37.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the village the population was spread out with 24.6% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.5 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $29,015, and the median income for a family was $36,250. Males had a median income of $32,135 versus $21,788 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,334. About 7.1% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.